SEO Relaunch Support & Implementation for WebsitesandOnline Shops

Website Relaunch for Homepage and Online Shop – SEO Relaunch Service for a Top Ranking with Search Engine Optimization

With more than 10 years of experience and over 1,000 web projects, we have witnessed many migrations, conversions, and relaunches on the web. Sometimes it goes well, but often something goes wrong, resulting in a direct loss of ranking.

Let us first clarify the terms and facts:

What is a relaunch and what does relaunch mean, and what is its definition (meaning)?

Relaunch, in English = migration/conversion, encompasses the launch of a new website or online shop on the same domain/URL (www address) where content already exists. Often, the design has been modernized and a technical update of the CMS or shop system has been carried out, or even a new system has been used.

Synonyms for a relaunch can also be: Re-introduction of a product / market launch, new introduction, redesign, re-launch, re-adjustment, restart

Differences between a pure design relaunch and a technical relaunch when switching to a new CMS, online shop system, or integration with an ERP (Enterprise Resource Planning) system

Another example of what can happen without relaunch support and without a control instance. 98% traffic loss within one week with a new site and new shop (fortunately not our client!):

If only the visual aspect, i.e., the web design, is changed, the structure, layout, and positioning of individual elements are usually checked to ensure that the HTML is clean, valid, and SEO-compliant. For a consistent or better Google ranking, the correct tagging of headings with H-tags, P-tags, li-elements, and the use of strong-tags are important. Likewise, no elements should be hidden. The responsive design, i.e., the mobile view, must also be cleanly accessible and run on almost all modern smartphones. Errors should be completely avoided here!

If a completely new system is used, the permalink (link in the address bar) as well as speaking links and the main navigation are added to the frontend, i.e., the interface that visitors see. The navigation at the top of the page is the entry point for Google, but also for visitors, to every page and every webshop. This must be clearly defined and self-explanatory. For mega menus or large navigations, a precise check is necessary. Errors are also punished directly here.

Online Shop Relaunch

For a webshop, many other factors are involved. The main sources of error are a changed categorization, conversion of filters and parameters, and changed page navigations (1,2,3,4,5, etc.). Technically speaking, an online shop requires significantly more, often 5 times as many, redirects (301 redirects) as a normal website or portal.

Website & Webshop Redirects

Without redirects, nothing works during a relaunch. Old URLs must redirect directly to the new address. Filters and parameters must be recognized and lead to the same product listing. Dynamic redirects and well-configured .htaccess files (Apache) help to find a timely solution for large amounts of data.

Technical Requirements for Systems and Platforms

Almost all modern homepage and shop systems offer redirect fields or their own plugins for relaunch redirects. These definitely include: WordPress, WooCommerce, Typo3, JTL Shop, Magento, Oxid, Drupal, Joomla, Craft (CMS System Comparison by ryte). Automatic redirect plugins can often be very helpful here. The 404 log file then provides information about the links that need to be adjusted manually.

Otherwise, access to the .htaccess via FTP and a text editor always helps. However, code knowledge is absolutely necessary for this and should only be carried out by a professional.

This also includes avoiding duplicate content through canonical tags and an analysis, evaluation, and review.

Relaunch Marketing Concept & Project Plan

A relaunch website planning with a checklist and project plan is essential. What sounds big at first can take only a few minutes for small sites. Planning with a checklist to tick off is most important and must be created BEFORE the conversion. With the relaunch, the checklist is then worked through, ensuring that nothing is overlooked. This way, every restart, from small to large, whether homepage, portal, blog, or shop, succeeds.

Relaunch marketing also includes a scheduled announcement before the conversion on social networks, via newsletter, and for larger companies and sites, also as a relaunch press release (online PR). This way, you receive more traffic beforehand and can better evaluate afterwards and, if necessary, also generate sales, acquire customer data, and collect feedback within that framework.

A clear recommendation from us! We would be happy to advise you on a proper SEO relaunch without ranking and traffic losses.
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After the Relaunch:

After the conversion, it is very important to inform Google and Bing, as the largest search engines, about the new website so that the index is updated and you receive technical SEO feedback as quickly as possible.

The following is important:

1. Trigger Google Crawler
2. Submit new sitemap + update property (link)
3. Adjust filters and parameters directly
4. Check robots.txt
5. Test "Fetch as Google" for multiple pages
6. Monitor new website ranking after at most 7 days via Search Console (Webmaster Tools) and possibly Sistrix

The result of a clean relaunch of a medium-sized industrial company with worldwide clientele